The APA is in good hands with all groups represented by enthusiastic and positively engaged members.

While it is pleasing that we finally have a vaccine and that our most vulnerable people are now immunised, this figure is far short of where the authorities thought we would be by now, and makes achieving the goal of a fully immunised population by October tenuous at best.

There have been dozens of inquiries into mental health in Australia.

Running a business isn’t easy. Each day there is no guarantee how much revenue is going to come through the door, nor how much your expenses will be for that day or how to grow and maintain your client base.

University and further study are geared towards how to be a great physiotherapist and furthering technical skills, but this does not guarantee commercial success, or that of a successful business.

The APA has been closely involved in the latest National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) pricing review.

We have contributed a written submission and members and representatives participated in workshops organised by the National Disability Insurance Agency.

While the review was ongoing, we saw the suitability of NDIS pricing for providers, including physiotherapists, questioned.

The APA released its pre-Budget submission Physiotherapy: A Path to Better Care in late January.

Every year, the Australian Government invites individuals, businesses and community groups to provide their views on priorities for the next federal budget.

We delved into the history of physiotherapy in Australia over the past 115 years, looking at where it began, how it evolved and some of its trends and fads, then speculated on what the future may look like and on the challenges and opportunities that may present to us over the next decade and beyond.

Despite the need for skilled health practitioners to address the growing burden of pain, there is generally limited pain management content in health practitioner education at all levels worldwide.

I feel that we all deserve to have a better year considering the past two years of pivoting, altering plans, moving conferences, reduced face-to-face professional development and inability to connect with our fellow colleagues and loved ones.

The end of 2021 was, for me, a period of reflection on what we have achieved and on how very proud and privileged I am to be a leader of the Australian Physiotherapy Association.

It is fundamentally difficult to make plans right now.

Despite this, during 2021 the APA led with resolve, using the time to build strategies and take action to strengthen our position nationally.

Out of the chaos, we found new ways of working, forging new partnerships to chart a purposeful path.